Children under two don’t get anything out of watching TV,
and it can be bad
for them. Thus, you’re not supposed to let kids under two watch television. It
gets worse…. you’re also not supposed to have the TV on in the background
because the noise is distracting
(I circumnavigate this issue with headphones while breastfeeding and wearing
baby Frankie on my TreadClimber. Enjoy the picture of me doing so in all my
postpartum glory.).

Brandi wearing her cranky, nap-refusing newborn while she watches Sister Wives and walks on her TreadClimber using her Sony wireless headphones so that Frankie doesn't get distracted by the TV. If you buy an audio splitter, you can hook up two headsets and watch TV with a pal.

I hear you screaming WHY?! at me, and I agree, it sucks, but
there are good reasons. Unfettered TV access increases aggression,
calorie intake, obesity,
inactivity, ADHD-like
behavior, and basically all of the –isms (e.g., consumerism,
sexism). I know you don’t want that. TV is also passive, which is problematic
because kids learn best by doing. TV is not doing. TV is sitting and watching
which is why we f’ing love it as parents. It’s literally the only way to get
our kids to stay in one place and not bother us for 22 minutes. So, Dr.
Developmental-Psychologist-know-it-all, Ph.D., what can I do to get these
sticky-fingered angels out of my face long enough to shower?! Keep reading. I
swear I have some good suggestions.

Interactive screen time with beneficial content is perfectly
fine in moderation. This means that iPads, videogames, and computers are all
better alternatives to TV for entertaining your kids long enough to check
Facebook. In fact, I would argue that kids need
experience with interactive screen mediums to be competent in our society. After
all, research indicates that playing videogames in moderation (less than an
hour a day) is linked to better
social and emotional development. Moreover, there might be other benefits
of playing videogames. For instance, videogamers might be better surgeons, so letting
your kids play angry birds may get you closer to your dreams of them becoming well-respected
doctors with summer homes in Southampton. Get those adorable monsters hooked up
with some videogames!

When you run out to buy an X-Box, choose games that model
behavior you want to encourage. I suggest non-violent, non-sexist games that
are as educational as possible because exposure to violence and sexism is only
going to make your kids think these things are okay. Video games that elicit
exercise are even
better. You want nice, smart kids, so provide games that model as much.

Once your kids turn two, go ahead and use TV to reclaim some
of your sanity by doling out TV time in moderation (less than 2 hours a day). Combined
with videogame time, that’s a whopping 3 hours of time when your kids aren’t
tugging on your pant leg whining that they’re bored!

Again, control the content. What they see on TV will be what
they want to do and be.
I know you already know this, because you’re reading this while your kids are
screaming “Let It Go” in your face and designing their Frozen Halloween costumes.
Now, if only there was a show depicting children who love to sweep and mop….

Furthermore, try to limit exposure to TV advertisements
because they make
kids eat more. You know this intuitively already. If your kids see food,
they want to eat it, even if they aren’t hungry. Although pudgy kids are cute, they’re
more likely to be fat adults. I know you don’t want to give your future 40-year-olds
diabetes. Thankfully, Netflix and Amazon have made avoiding commercials much
easier.

In addition to imitation, starting around two, kids can
learn from interactive educational TV (basically, any PBS kids programming),
which incorporates kids by prompting them to respond and minimizes time spent
staring soullessly at the TV. In fact, exposing them to interactive educational
programming like Sesame Street is
linked to increased knowledge of
things important to school readiness. That’s right, I just told you that,
when done right, TV could make your kids smarter.

Also, to steal the words of my host, make TV time work for
you. Don’t just let it happen whenever your kids demand it. Plan it so you can
get some crap done. Let them watch TV when you need them to shut up and stay in
one place.

Lastly, you can use TV-time to up your parenting game by
establishing a token-economy in which you give your kids tokens for good
behavior that they use to “buy” TV-time. This long-term behavior modification
plan allows you to discipline your children in a way that psychologists have
deemed more humane (less screaming and spanking) and effective. Also, earning
tokens to buy later TV-time is a good exercise for developing frontal lobes (the
part of their brain that keeps them from tantruming, hitting, and coloring on
your walls) by teaching them how to delay gratification (which is linked to
tons of great outcomes) and self-regulate (so you don’t have to do it for
them). Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to rub my 4-month old’s teething gums
while we watch Californication. Hey!Nobody’s
perfect—not even Professor Parenting.

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About Me

I earned my Ph.D. in 2012 at the University of Maryland in Developmental Psychology. Since then, I've become an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Alma College and a mom. I started blogging to share how I balance both my knowledge of what helps kids develop best with my limitations of being a human on the front line of motherhood.